Sunday, June 13, 2010

I was in quite a mood a couple weeks ago in the meat department. Sometimes I see strange cuts of meat and I get too excited. Next thing I know, I am putting away turkey legs and oxtails!I finally decided to commit my entire Saturday afternoon and make oxtails for our date night. Oxtails are Aaron's favorite so I had to find a really good recipe! This one was nice and simple, and I already had most of the ingredients! This recipe takes about 4 hours, but 3.5 of those hours is just you sitting on the couch while the oxtails cook themselves in the oven! It turned out very tender and delicious, so it is very worth it!

In a 4 to 6 quart heavy saucepan boil wine until reduced by about half. Trim oxtails and pat dry. Season oxtails with salt and pepper. In a deep heavy ovenproof kettle just large enough to hold oxtails in one layer heat 1 tbsp butter over moderately high heat until foam subsides and brown oxtails on all sides. Transfer to bowl. Coarsely chop garlic, carrots, onion, and celery. Add vegetables to kettle and cook in 1 tbsp butter over moderately low heat, stirring until softened.

Arrange oxtails over vegetables and add reduced wine, herbs, and enough broth to just cover oxtails. Bring liquid to a boil and braise oxtails, covered, in middle of oven 3 to 3.5 hours, or until meat is very tender but not falling off the bone. Transfer oxtails with a slotted spoon to a bowl and keep warm. Pour braising liquid through a fine sieve into a large saucepan and discard solids. Boil liquid until thick, shiny, and reduced to about 1 3/4 cups and whisk in remaining tablespoon butter.

By the way, this sauce makes for an excellent dip for the Bacon Bread. I'm just sayin'.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a cookie/baking sheet completely with foil, then line the base of the foil with parchment paper, cut to fit. (I thought about skipping the parchment paper, but I'm so glad I didn't. If you don't, the toffee mixture you pour over the crackers would stick to the foil and that would be no good! So yes, definitely use parchment paper.)

Line the baking sheet with matzo or crackers, covering all parts. In a medium sauce pan, melt the butter and brown sugar together, and stir it over medium heat until it begins to boil. Once it has begun boiling, let it bubble for three more minutes, stirring it well. It will thicken a bit as it cooks. Remove from the heat and add the salt and vanilla, and then quickly pout it over the matzo or crackers. You'll want to spread it quickly, as it will begin to set as soon as it is poured.

Bake the caramel-covered crackers for 8-15 minutes, watching carefully as it will bubble and the corners might darken too quickly and/or burn. You can reduce the heat if you see this happening. I made two pans of this, and the pan on the bottom got burned...but actually tasting the two I liked the burned taste! That's just me...but do make sure it doesn't burn to the point of BLACK caramel. I had bits of that too and that is just a waste of good butter and sugar.

Remove from oven and immediately cover with chocolate chips. Let stand five minutes, and then spread them evenly across the caramel. An offset spatula works great here. If you're using them, sprinkle the chocolate with toasted chopped nuts. Wait 10 minutes for it to cool completely or stick it in the fridge. Sprinkle sea salt over them.

My friend Jennifer made this bread at last year's Pork-Off competition, and after I ate it, I begged her for the recipe. One year later, I finally got around to making it! She gave me the recipe handwritten on the most adorable recipe card, and now I am going to digitize it for her.

Fry bacon over medium heat until crisp, 8 minutes. Transfer bacon to paper towel and pour off all but 2 tablespoons bacon fat from skillet. Add onion to skillet and cook until softened, 3 minutes. Set aside.

In large bowl whisk flour, baking powder, cayenne, salt, and pepper. Using rubber spatula, mix in cheese cubes, breaking up clumps until cheese is coated with flour. Add bacon and onion, and stir.

Bake until deep golden brown and toothpick inserted in center of loaf comes out clean, 45-50 minutes. You can broil on high for 3-4 minutes if you want the top to be extra crispy! Cool in pan 5 minutes on wire rack. Invert loaf from pan and continue to cool until warm, about 45 minutes.